In my location which is cool with high rain fall alba roses grow well, 'Cuisse de Nymphe', 'Alba Maxima' and 'Kronigin von Danemark' make large, healthy and long lived plants. However in hotter and drier climates they suffer from rust.

Known as an antique rose and identified as "Maiden's Blush" of the Rosa Acra Family, The Loyalist Rose has had a remarkable journey through the centuries. It is illustrated in many Renaissance paintings, notable Botticelli's "Birth of Venue".

The plant was taken to England from Damascus during the Crusades. In 1773, John and Mary Cameron brought roots of the rose bush with them when they emigrated from their native Scotland to Sir William Johnson's estates in western New York.

In 1776, John Cameron took up arms on the side of the British in the American Revolution. After Britain lost that struggle, Cameron and his family joined the great tide of Loyalists leaving the original Thirteen Colonies. The family gathered up what possessions they could carry including roots of the Maiden's Blush.

They carried the rose plant with them on the 230-mile trek over the Appalachians before settling in the Cornwall area. The rose proved to be a treasured possession and, in many ways, was an important component of their survival in the wilderness of Upper Canada. From its flowers, stalks, leaves and tips, the pioneers made medicines, tea and many delicacies.

Two hundred years later, in 1976, Ethel Macleod, a descendant of John and Mary Cameron, registered "The Loyalist Rose" with the International Registration Authority for Roses and donated the plant to The United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada to mark the bi-centennial of the American Revolution and the coming of the Loyalists to British North America (Canada).

The Loyalist Rose has a cupped, very doubled fragrant flower ranging in colour from a pale pink to almost white. The bushy plant has dense foliage and blooms well in June.

Regarding Maidens Blush. The Description of "Loyalist' was supplied by the Empire Loyalists in Ontario Canada in 2007. Rose Acra could be either a typo or refer to the city of Acra. This description is on a plaque beside the family plant in Ontario.The registration of the name Loyalist was not accepted as rose registration was not inaugurated till the early 1950's. Thus no rose varieties prior to that date can be registered, though some are still 'deemed' to be registered.Only DNA analysis can truly confirm rose identifications. There have been cases of rose outlets 'renaming' roses for sales purposes

This is not a rare variety, but why is it nearly impossible to find SMALL Maiden's Blush in the USA? Seems our nurseries only sell Great MB, not small. The 2015 Combined Rose List only gives two Canadian sources for SBM, which are dead ends. There's also Internet chatter that Schultheis nursery in Germany is mistakenly selling Duchesse de Montebello as SMB -- they wouldn't be the first. There has to be someone in the continental United States that is growing the real Small Maiden's Blush. Please contact me via private message on here if you would be willing to spare cuttings from an unvirused plant. Thank you!